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DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,756
4,580
Delaware
That USB device tree does not automatically update when the tree is already open. What I mean by that: If you have that device tree open, and plug in a different device, the tree won't update until you press Command-R, or just quit System Information, and re-open it to the USB device tree. Then, after that quick update, you will see an accurate display of what is actually attached to your USB bus.
 

Elusi

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2023
241
488
How many Macrumors members does it take to solve a light computer problem? :D

I highly suspect that @tonmischa hit the nail on the head by the end of page 1 here with calculating that you're getting exactly the expected speed of a typical USB 2.0 connection (including overhead). I can only find that adapter on AliExpress and while it does say 5gbps.. I mean it's an AliExpress item!

Didn't they include a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box with the SSD? It's pretty common to still send them.
 

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
Sorry, I did not read through all the replys. Wanted to try to help you anyway.

Are you sure, that the USB-C to USB-C cable you are using came with the SSD?
There are USB-C to USB-C cables out there which are only built for charging. They will only give USB 2.0 speeds during file transfers.
USB 2.0 speed is about 40 MB/sec, which would match your "50GB in 22 minutes"
Have you tried another USB-C to USB-C cable?

EDIT:
Where did you get the USB-C to USB-A adapter from? Are you sure it is USB 3.0? (The blue color inside the plug can be misleading too. It might only refer to the power (wattage) of USB 3, not to the transfer speed.)

Others have suggested buying a quality USB-C to USB-A cable. I would like to "+1" this suggestion. Good luck!
The cable came in the box with the SSD

I will get a C to A cable and do away with the adaptor. How to verify the speed besides trusting the saleman. I don't buy alot of cables in my lifetime. Does those branded comes with certificate?

The C to A adpator I bought it fr the same shop that sold me Crucial. Its obvious most accessories are made in China. Besides the blue colour indication, how else to know its really meant for transfer speed and not wattage? I bet many salesman will also just tell you look at the colour idiot. I will not go down this route to hunt for a real quality adaptor. This will be academic to know how else to check.

Tks very much

Edit: As the manual didn't provide more info on the cable, I'll call up the agent to verify
 
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novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
Micro B comes in two variants, the small one that does up to USB 2.0 speeds (480Mbps) and the wider, two-part one that is USB 3 (5Gbps). A USB-C cable can be anything from USB 2.0 speeds up to USB 4/Thunderbolt 4. I agree that the cable that came with the SSD in 2024 should not be a slow USB 2.0 cable, that would be weird and crazy and stupid.
Tks for all the info and help. Its very informative. This the micro B cable. Whats the carrying speed?

IMG_8540.jpg
 

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
That adapter was a short term solution for a period of time before usb c. The right side of the adapter is a normal mini b connector and the left side is there to handle the extra power that is allowed to pass through for the usb 3 spec.

The hdd seems to be operating at normal speeds for it. The SSD should transfer about 4-5 times faster than the hdd.

Since you are testing, I assume your SSD is mostly empty. As an SSD fills, its write speed will slow down. Even then I wouldn’t expect results that poor. My old work issued MBP with 128GB would write at usb 2.0 speeds when it was about 3/4 full. Same with my M1 mini, speeds drop as it fills.

Is the usb c to usb c cable the one that came from Crucial? If not, it could be a power delivery cable not meant to carry data at high speed. I would recommend trying a usb c to usb c cable that mentions data speeds of 5 gb/s (usb 3.0) or higher. The higher spec’d ones are backward compatible. Or better yet, a single usb c to usb a cable, again, check for the data speeds.

It sounds like your adapter should be usb 3, but it’s another possible culprit. I’d go the single cable route though, if I’m buying new parts.
I'll pick a single cable solution, ie C to A straight. Do you have any recommendation? Can we use a data transfer cable instead of a power cable for charging? Sorry weird question.

Tks
 

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
How many Macrumors members does it take to solve a light computer problem? :D

I highly suspect that @tonmischa hit the nail on the head by the end of page 1 here with calculating that you're getting exactly the expected speed of a typical USB 2.0 connection (including overhead). I can only find that adapter on AliExpress and while it does say 5gbps.. I mean it's an AliExpress item!

Didn't they include a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box with the SSD? It's pretty common to still send them.
I'm pleased with these forum there are so many helpful people including you. But some just don't take my face value statement and repeatedly asked are you sure about this and that. That drags the tread.

Btw, they provide C to C and not C to A. The former made more sense in this era. No?
 

tonmischa

macrumors regular
Apr 22, 2007
186
293
How to verify the speed besides trusting the saleman. I don't buy alot of cables in my lifetime. Does those branded comes with certificate?
In my experience the data speed is printed on the box or stated in the product description.
if you check amazon for "usb-a to usb-c cable", you will find some cheap charging cables that state 480MBit/sec (which is slow USB 2.0)
If you look for brand names like Anker, Aukey or UGreen you will find charging cables that clearly state "data speed 5 Gbit/sec" (= 5 Gbps = USB 3.0). Thats the one you want.

I personally have used a lot of "Aukey USB 3.0 A to C-Cables" in the past and had no problems whatsoever.
I hope the new cable will fix it for you!


EDIT: The connector in your photo is USB 3.0 = 5 Gbps
 
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novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
In my experience the data speed is printed on the box or stated in the product description.
if you check amazon for "usb-a to usb-c cable", you will find some cheap charging cables that state 480MBit/sec (which is slow USB 2.0)
If you look for brand names like Anker, Aukey or UGreen you will find charging cables that clearly state "data speed 5 Gbit/sec" (= 5 Gbps = USB 3.0). Thats the one you want.

I personally have used a lot of "Aukey USB 3.0 A to C-Cables" in the past and had no problems whatsoever.
I hope the new cable will fix it for you!


EDIT: The connector in your photo is USB 3.0 = 5 Gbps
Hey Tks,

Since you can verify my adaptor is not the issue, it narrows down to the C-C cable. I hv written to the agent and awaiting for his reply. I hope he will say the C-C cable is merely a charging cable and not meant to transmit data. Otherwise it opens a can of worm again and I'm gonna pull my hair out.
 

meson

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2014
516
511
I'll pick a single cable solution, ie C to A straight. Do you have any recommendation? Can we use a data transfer cable instead of a power cable for charging? Sorry weird question.

Tks
Something like this should work.

USB c to a data cable

You could also look for options from more well known manufacturers, Cable Matters, Anker, etc., but they tend to be a little more expensive. When finding something on Amazon, I typically look for 4 star+ reviews and a large number purchased in the last month.

I agree that the most likely culprit is the adapter. While it's a dumb design choice, just because the A port is likely to be USB 3 compliant, it doesn't necessarily mean that they chose a USB 3 compliant type c adapter for the other end.
 
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novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
Hi all,

The plot thickens and its really puzzling, at least to me.

I called up the agent and explained the whole testing procedure to them. They are willing to exchange for a new same SSD. I told them I don't need just to change for the sake of changing. So they agree to do some testing for me and an appointment has been made this Fri.

Over the weekend, I did some testing again and lo and behold, now the SSD was consistently faster than the HDD in various form of transferring. The testing method was similar to previous one. I also further increased the file size to exacerbate the time difference and every time the SSD is between 1.6 to 3.6 times faster. So it seems the adapter and the cable is not the issue.

Is there such a thing as "run in" for the SSD like a new car engine? Why then the 1st result turns out so odd though I'm not dreading over it now. Unless a 3rd test turns out again like the first. LOL
 

meson

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2014
516
511
Hi all,

The plot thickens and its really puzzling, at least to me.

I called up the agent and explained the whole testing procedure to them. They are willing to exchange for a new same SSD. I told them I don't need just to change for the sake of changing. So they agree to do some testing for me and an appointment has been made this Fri.

Over the weekend, I did some testing again and lo and behold, now the SSD was consistently faster than the HDD in various form of transferring. The testing method was similar to previous one. I also further increased the file size to exacerbate the time difference and every time the SSD is between 1.6 to 3.6 times faster. So it seems the adapter and the cable is not the issue.

Is there such a thing as "run in" for the SSD like a new car engine? Why then the 1st result turns out so odd though I'm not dreading over it now. Unless a 3rd test turns out again like the first. LOL
These speeds sound much more reasonable for your SSD performance.

When you transfer new info, Spotlight will index it. This will cause transfer times to plummet, but not normally to the level you described.

When you did your initial testing, did you transfer a fairly large chunk of data and then start your transfer testing shortly after? If you transferred 10's of GB of data, it may take Spotlight a number of minutes to index it all. During this time, Spotlight is using a lot of CPU resources and reading a lot of data. It will bog down a system, especially disk intensive tasks significantly. If your testing was happening during the indexing time, it may explain your problem. Once Spotlight is finished, then things should operate as normal, which is what you seem to be seeing now.
 

subzento

Suspended
Mar 24, 2023
20
11
Salt Lake City
The file system format of the SSD could affect the transfer speed. For example, if the SSD is formatted with a file system that is not optimized for macOS, it could lead to slower speeds.
 
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novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
There shouldn't be. When you first got the drive, did you re-format it? You might be wasting some CPU time converting things to ex-fat or something.
No. I didn't do any reformatting. It came in ExFat and I just used it straight away
 

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
These speeds sound much more reasonable for your SSD performance.

When you transfer new info, Spotlight will index it. This will cause transfer times to plummet, but not normally to the level you described.

When you did your initial testing, did you transfer a fairly large chunk of data and then start your transfer testing shortly after? If you transferred 10's of GB of data, it may take Spotlight a number of minutes to index it all. During this time, Spotlight is using a lot of CPU resources and reading a lot of data. It will bog down a system, especially disk intensive tasks significantly. If your testing was happening during the indexing time, it may explain your problem. Once Spotlight is finished, then things should operate as normal, which is what you seem to be seeing now.
Tested with 50GB of photos transfer. That don't sounds a lot to me. And I empty the disk for next test again
 

DeltaMac

macrumors G5
Jul 30, 2003
13,756
4,580
Delaware
Do you need to use that drive on other platforms? (Windows/Linux, etc) in addition to your Mac use?
If not, erase the portable, and change format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or, if your Macs all have systems using APFS-format drives, format that external to APFS. That may do the most to take care of your response issues on that drive.
 

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
Do you need to use that drive on other platforms? (Windows/Linux, etc) in addition to your Mac use?
If not, erase the portable, and change format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or, if your Macs all have systems using APFS-format drives, format that external to APFS. That may do the most to take care of your response issues on that drive.
I don't hv PC but only Mac.

Tks for info. Let me read up on that if reformatting indeed really helps
 
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